Court declines petition to stop SHA rollout

The High Court has declined to issue an order stopping the rollout of the new Social Health Authority (SHA), which began on Tuesday, October 1.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Justice Bahati Mwamuye certified a lawsuit filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah as urgent.

"After a preliminary review of the Notice of Motion and the constitutional issues raised, I certify the application dated September 30, 2024, as urgent and direct that it be heard on a priority basis," Justice Mwamuye said.

Senator Omtatah, along with activists Eliud Matindi and Dr Magare Gikenyi, filed a case seeking to halt the SHA rollout and invalidate the contract between the government and the Safaricom Consortium.

"Pending the hearing and determination of this application and petition, the court should issue a conservatory order suspending the scheduled rollout of the Social Health Insurance Fund on October 1, 2024," the petition stated.

The petitioners also requested the suspension and annulment of the government’s contract with the Safaricom Consortium—comprising Safaricom Plc, Konvergenz Network Solutions, and Apeiro Limited, to provide the Integrated Healthcare Information Technology System for Universal Health Care.

The court has directed the petitioners to serve the relevant parties with their responses by this Friday.

The case will be mentioned on October 9, for further directions.